To Fail or Not to Fail
by Resident Fruit Knife
Summary: It was enough that Alfred failed a class, he accepted this. However, to get tutored by some creep who just so happened to like his twin? Ugh.
1. Of Scarves and Accents

**What am I doing, posting another story? ...I have no idea! It got stuck while I was watching Junjou Romantica because if you guys haven't seen the anime, Usagi? He looks like Ivan. Kind of acts like Ivan. I couldn't help myself. xD So, you'll see heavy references to the anime, but, this isn't a crossover and this shouldn't be a concern! I will try my best to make the plot as fresh as I can. I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Hetalia. **

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**Tact is knowing how far to go too far. - -Jean Cocteau**

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What was Alfred doing here? Standing in front of an apartment, a rather ornate apartment, the boy shifted on his foot then stared at the keypad then back up at the door. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, his twin had dragged him here…

"…_How…the hell…did you get a D-….in history?" One very pissed off Canadian asked as another American started to sneak out of the room only to be grabbed by the scruff of his neck and pulled back. The American flailed helplessly for a moment then looked at the other boy who had an angry look in his eyes. "Well? You're usually good at most of your classes, why did you fail this one?" _

_Looking away, the other boy mumbled something that the Canadian didn't catch. "…Eh?" _

"…_I said that it's a stupid class with a stupid Professor! Now let go of me Matt!" _

'_Matt' or otherwise known as one Matthew Williams, growled rather angrily then shook his head. "Al, that's no excuse to have you fail a class!" he bemoaned, shaking his head as Al, or Alfred F. Jones, and really, no one could figure out why twins had different last names, growled softly, shaking his head. _

"_That's totally a valid excuse!" he snapped back as Matthew glared at him. _

"_If you're failing then I have to get you a tutor! I won't let you fail." Glaring a little, he shook his head as Alfred whined a little. _

"_Maaaaaaatt, don't make me go to a tutor!" he said, giving a pouting face as Matthew shook his head again, looking at his brother. _

"_You'll have to go, you're getting a bad grade! I won't let you fail Al!" _

And that's why, Alfred was standing with his brother in front the apartment door, waiting for Matthew's friend Ivan Braginski to come out. Apparently, this Ivan Braginski was a full time writer and a part time history teacher, tutoring his brother when he had trouble with European history.

"Mr. Braginski, are you in…?" Matthew called, tilting his head as he did so while knocking on the door.

"If he's a friend, why are you calling him mister?" Alfred muttered as the door opened and a silver haired man poked his head out, looking at the boy. A smile graced his features as he opened the door completely, stepping in front of them as he did so. A tall, violet eyed man stood there, a white scarf tucked around his throat as he looked over his visitors.

"Matevy, it is fine to simply call me Ivan," the man spoke, his accent prominent in his voice. Matthew laughed softly as he led Alfred into the room, not noticing how his brother was giving him an incredulous look. His normally shy brother was chatting easily with this rather intimidating taller man.

And holy _shit _this guy was loaded! What sort of apartment had a living room this big?

"Non, I feel a little odd if I use your name, eh?" he replied as Alfred continued to sulk, looking away. "Ah, this is my brother, Alfred." Elbowing the boy sharply, he glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. "Say hello Alfred," he growled softly as Alfred continued to sulk anyway.

"ello'," he muttered as Ivan continued to smile placidly, nodding his head.

"Hello Alfred. I am your brother's tutor, Ivan Braginski," he said as Alfred nodded, not moving from where he was. "Your brother is telling me that you are not doing so well in your history class?"

Alfred muttered something under his breath, shifting a little, then nodded his head as his brother elbowed him again and answered for him. "Oui, he isn't exactly…doing so well. I don't want him to fail after all, because we need to pass through this first year of college alright at least…"

Ivan listened to this as Alfred shifted, frowning a little as the taller man started to look through the tests that Matthew had brought. "I see. This is rather bad," the man said as Alfred growled softly. "But do not worry Matevy, I will not let your brother fail."

"Really? Really, really? That's great! Thank you Mr. Braginski!" Matthew said happily and obviously relieved, reaching out to hold his hand as Ivan's eyes softened slightly then squeezed the hand back before letting go.

"He can come here, after your classes and I will teach him. Your home…it is on the end of the street from here, da? Then I will take him back myself," he said, a small placid smile on his lips as he did so as Matthew smiled and nodded his head.

"Thank you…"

After Matthew left, wanting for the student and the teacher to get associated with each other, Ivan sighed then looked around, got a bottle of vodka, and poured in a glass for himself. Looking at the boy as he pushed up his glasses, he tilted his head. "You are…Matevy's twin? You seem rather different from each other," he said with a slight smile.

Alfred scowled a little, shaking his head as he did so. "Yeah, we are different," the boy replied with a frown as he looked at the man from the corner of his eye. "Just because we're twins doesn't means we're the same. What, did you think I was like Matthew?" he asked with a scowl as Ivan laughed softly, shaking his head.

"Nyet, nyet, I would hope that you are not the same. It is boring having the same person, da?" he commented cheerily, smiling a little as Alfred watched the man for a moment.

"…So how do you know Mattie?" Alfred asked after a long silence as he stared at Ivan who blinked at the question.

"Matevy? Ah…I met him through a colleague of mine, a professor at your college, and he was having trouble with his classes." Alfred frowned a little at that, wondering why he hadn't taken notice to his brother's struggles. Maybe that was why he was so adamant on helping him pass his class. "I offered to tutor him and we became friends," Ivan answered, slowly swirling the glass and watching the glass slightly sparkle in the light of the room.

Shifting back in his seat, Alfred frowned watching the man in front of him for a moment before frowning all the more. "You and my brother…you're not hurting him are you? Forcing yourself on him?" Getting riled up because of his own imagination, Alfred grew livid and stood up out of his seat. "What the hell are you doing to him?"

Ivan burst out laughing, shaking his head as he continued to laugh, and smiling. "Your brother is a cute boy, da?" he said while still laughing. "Perhaps I might appreciate his company as well, more then others. He is…a rather dear boy….to me…" His smile softened at the thought as he sat back, almost not aware of the fact that there was another boy sitting there, in front of him, scowling.

"Okay, dude, I would appreciate you not mentally stripping my brother IN FRONT OF ME, thank you!" Alfred snapped feverishly, shaking his head as Ivan blinked then downed the rest of the vodka.

"Ah, excuse me," he said with a smile as he shook his head before continuing to smile. "It would be rude to imagine one's brother in that fashion, da?"

Alfred sat back a little, feeling a little awkward as he did so and shook his head slowly as he did so. Okay, so he hadn't been expecting that. At all. What he had thought was a simple friendship suddenly jumped to this guy, his new supposed _tutor_, has just said, bluntly, that he loved his brother. Or at least had really perverted thoughts about him. This teacher admitted to his _face _that he had feelings for Matthew, Mattie, his twin. That was a little disturbing.

What was a little more disturbing was the fact that Ivan Braginski had just admitted that he loved Alfred's brother to him, his **twin**. Someone he just _met _seriously, what the hell had he been missing?

"You know…" he began after a long moment. "You know he's dating right now right?"

Ivan's face fell slightly at that and he nodded. "Da. I know. But it doesn't matter, so long as he is happy."

"You don't seem to be the guy to just stand on the sidelines," Alfred commented rather flippantly, tilting his head a little at that. "You seem like the guy that would be all creepy and scare Matt's girlfriend away."

"As much as I appreciate your thoughts on my devotion, I would rather leave Matevy be. If he is happy with her, then so be it. I will leave them be." Smiling a little, he nodded and stared at Alfred curiously. "Why would I want to interfere in my sister's relationship with your brother?"

Oh. Well. Okay, this was awkward.

"….So…Katayusha is your sister," Alfred said blankly, staring at him. Ivan blinked then nodded, a curious look on his face.

"They met after a tutoring session with me…" Ivan said with another blink and a surprised look. "Matevy did not mention me when he told you?"

Alfred shook his head slowly. "He mentioned that she had a younger brother and a sister…" Making a face, he stared at Ivan. "So just because your sister likes Mattie, you'll just back down? Not that I approve of your creepiness hanging around him, just, I find that not heroic."

Ivan found this rather curious as he moved a little closer, tilting his head as he did so. "What do you mean heroic Alfred…?" he asked as Alfred snorted, tossing his head.

"Well, you shouldn't give up just because there's someone else that he likes. You should keep going, show him your best side. Mattie's not stupid, he'll know and it's better then keeping it sealed in." Alfred smiled slightly for the first time that day as Ivan watched the boy with a blank expression for a long moment.

A slow smile curled up on his lips as he nodded at the boy then with a slight shake of his head, the smile turned more nostalgic. "Nyet…even with then, my sister is happy with Matevy and I am happy that Matevy is happy."

Alfred frowned a little at that then stared at Ivan before puffing out one cheek. "Well, hell, I didn't expect to learn that Mattie had a creepy guy stalking him."

Ivan pouted then moved over next to Alfred, poking his cheek. "Nyet, I think I care for your brother more then stalking him."

"Well, if you care about him so much, then maybe you should make a move or if you refuse, just go look for someone else!" Alfred stood up in a huff then moved away from Ivan and the finger. "You shouldn't keep clinging and making those love struck eyes at him!"

Ivan watched Alfred for a long moment then smiled slowly, nodding his head. "…You make rather good advice for someone who keeps making stupid mistakes in tests."

Alfred frowned. "And that's why I'm here." Staring at the man for a moment, Alfred broke his gaze then turned away. "Well, whatever, I'm out of here. But I'm just taking this little tutoring session for Mattie's sake, got that? So don't use me to get to him, find your own damn way to him or just get with anyone else.'

Marching out of the living room, Alfred slammed the door shut, leaving Ivan alone.

The Russian man stood up slowly, straightened his scarf, then moved to his bedroom. Closing his eyes, for the first time in a long time, it wasn't Matthew's soft voice that invaded his thoughts…it was…blue eyes.

…How odd.


	2. Of Realizing and Napping

**Hello again and thank you to all my reviewers so far! It means a lot to me when you review so, ahaha, thank you for taking the time to do so. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well! I personally am mixed about this chapter but I wanted to get it out soon. So, please do enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own. Nor will I ever own. Really, it's a far away dream to me.  
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**My method is to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost levity. - George Bernard Shaw**

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Standing there with pancakes in a Tupperware for his tutor, tucked safely in his side as demanded by Matthew who had made them, the boy who was currently failing his history class could only stare.

Alfred F. Jones, in his entire existence of nineteen years, had never seen so many damned sunflowers crammed in a garden. Not even in those gardens his uncle Arthur dragged him to for "culture", if culture meant sitting in tea shops and drinking tea, not even in flower shops, nowhere. Seriously, what the hell was up with all of these flowers? Was it a Sunflower festival and he didn't know?

Ivan, for all that Alfred sent him a look that screamed 'what the **hell**, man!' didn't seem to notice that his garden was bursting with so much yellow that it practically overflowed and walked right through it. "This," he said, motioning to the garden, "is my sunflower patch."

Alfred snorted, shaking his head. "Oh, yeah, sure, like I didn't notice when I came in here," he said with a sharp laugh as Ivan blinked then chuckled softly himself. "Besides, what the hell? How can you even fit apartment gardens this _big _anyway?"

Ivan blinked yet again before wandering forward a few steps in the garden. "…I asked them if I could renovate my patio to a garden?" he asked innocently, eyes watching Alfred whose face immediately turned into a scowl. Seriously, when normal people just settled with a patio?

"But, in any case, because the weather is nice, we will study out here, da?" Smiling, he walked through the garden then paused, looking at the red roses blooming on a vine. "Did you know, that these stand for 'I love you'?" he asked, tilting his head. "Then again, these roses are the most typical for lovers, so I would think that you know."

"…You know what the flowers actually mean?" Alfred asked with a blank look on his face as Ivan laughed, shifting his scarf slightly.

"Da! It is a hobby of mine, for example, the cactus means strength and confidence," he said with a smile as Alfred just continued to stare at him then at the plants around him. "I do not want to plant anything that has a negative connotation in my garden, da?" He smiled a little then walked forward into a little patio seat and motioned the boy forward. "Come."

Alfred had to think, this day was getting more and more strange but hey, anything to get past that stupid class. The sooner he was done with this, the better.

"Your brother told me, that currently you are going over world history," Ivan spoke as they settled in the seat. Cracking open the book, the Russian set the book in his lap then making Alfred open his notebook, began to slowly go through the chapter.

His voice, thick with his Russian accent, flowed over Alfred who was idly writing down what the man was saying. Despite himself, despite the fact that Alfred did not like this man for liking his brother, his voice was soothing. Very…very soothing, with a strange lilt to his voice as history flowed over them both.

Eyelids drooping, the notebook slid out of his hands, clattering to the floor with a small rustle and Alfred found himself slumping over to the right.

Ivan continued to speak for a moment, not noticing that the boy was slumping slowly towards his shoulder until a soft thud on his left shoulder caught his attention. He closed the book then looked at the boy who was dozing on his shoulder, face pretty much squished into his arm. The Russian man looked at the boy then shifted, dipping his shoulder so that the boy could rest more comfortably.

Tilting his head, he watched the boy doze for a moment before looking at the notebook in a heap. Stretching out his hand, he took the notebook and stared at the book, the notes scribbled in it. Skimming through the pages, Ivan smiled a little, then began to write in the boy's notebook, his handwriting curling around the pages.

_He must be tired…_Ivan mused softly to himself as he continued to write, barely paying attention to the fact that the boy had started to drool. _No matter, we have time to spare. _

Alfred was dreaming, dreaming of hamburgers and sunflowers. His dream self seemed to accept the fact that his dream was overflowing with sunflowers and was eating hamburgers happily. There was a voice that he couldn't recognize at first and a tall figure who was in the middle of the sunflowers. He seemed familiar…and he had turned his head and…actually…_laughed?_

In the midst of trying to figure out who the hell this guy was, he realized that the hamburger that he was eating was made up of literally history words and he shouted, jerking awake.

Okay, where was he and who the hell, or what the hell was he leaning against? Seeing bright yellow, he winced then rubbed his eyes, sitting up slowly. "Ah, you are up?" A voice spoke as Alfred nearly jumped out of his seat to stare at the other man who seemed, to the boy, to have magically appeared out of nowhere. "You have been sleeping for the past hour, da? I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

Staring at the man, then at the wet patch on his shoulder, Alfred's mind gears slowly began to click together. He had been _asleep_, there was a wet patch on Ivan's _shoulder_, surely he couldn't have fallen asleep on the man, right? …Right?

"…You didn't touch me did you?" Alfred asked after a long moment as Ivan laughed, brushing the insult aside with a slight toss of his head.

"Nyet, I would not assault a man in his sleep," he said, still laughing as Alfred scowled, frowning then realized that hey, he had really fallen asleep on the man's shoulder and he actually slept _well._ What the hell was that supposed to mean then? That he…no way, it was just a nap! …Just a nap where he slept on the other man's shoulder!

Standing up, Alfred hid a red blush with an angry look, shaking his head. "Okay, so, why didn't you wake me up? I'm pretty sure Mattie isn't making you pancakes just so you can be a creeper and watch me sleep," he snapped, temper getting ahead of him.

"Because you looked exhausted," Ivan said simply, closing Alfred's notebook and setting it on his bag, slipping it in. Perhaps the boy would read through what he wrote later... "And we have time so it does not matter to me if you take a nap now and then." Ivan smiled then thwaped the boy lightly on the head. "Don't let me see you sleeping all of the time in lessons. I might not be your professor, but that does not mean I will let you slack off in our sessions together."

Alfred, at that, couldn't decide that if he wanted to blush from the consideration or yell from the thwack to his head. He did neither and sat there for a moment, staring at the floor. "…Thanks…for lending me your shoulder," he said slowly after a moment as Ivan chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"It was my pleasure Alfred," he said as Alfred stood up and threw his stuff into his bag. Looking at his bag, he remembered what Matthew had given to him to give the other man and then, he handed the pancakes to the said man.

"Matt made them for you," he said with a slight nod and a grin. "He said to say to you, thank you for teaching me and sorry for the trouble."

Ivan took the Tupperware and stared at it for a long moment before smiling softly and nodding his head. "Matevy does not need to go to such an effort for me," he murmured almost softly as Alfred shrugged, looking at him curiously.

"You know Matt, even if you say not to do something for yourself, he'll end up doing it anyway. He feels bad for making you teach me." Alfred continued to grin then folded his arms. "I'll get the Tupperware next time so just enjoy it." Ivan merely smiled, nodding his head along with what the boy said before shaking his head. "He is not forcing me to do anything. I am his friend, I will gladly do it for him."

Alfred stared at him as Ivan sighed then stared back. "Da, I know, my affection towards him plays towards this, but Matevy is a kind boy. He doesn't need to continue being kind towards me. It is the other way around after all." Alfred had to wonder, just what happened between his twin and this tutor of theirs. How did Ivan come to like his twin so much? It couldn't be through just tutoring…right?

"…I will see you to your home," Ivan spoke after a moment as Alfred shifted awkwardly and nodded his head, smiling a little. He couldn't help but to think that the man was actually alright when he smiled like that. It wasn't like the other smiles he gave before but…even if it was about his brother, it was…fitting.

Allowing a longer smile, Alfred followed along with the man, hands stuffed in his pockets. "So what do you do for a living?" he asked as he watched the older man.

"Me? Ah, well, I am an author now, however, I used to teach as a professor at another college. I thought Matevy would have told you this," Ivan asked, blinking at Alfred with curiosity clear in his eyes. Alfred shrugged then continued to walk down the path, not minding the cold chill that passed through the rather empty streets.

"Matt mentioned that his tutor used to be a teacher at another school but…" Alfred watched the man for a moment and offered a slight smile as he looked up at him. "Didn't expect for you to be him and for you to be a history buff of all things." He laughed, shaking his head as Ivan smiled at the laughter, nodding his head.

"Many people do not expect me to be well versed in history, but, I find it good to know," he spoke as Alfred hummed along with that. Well, this was awkward. The boy shifted then looked up at Ivan who had his scarf tucked over his face then looked down, wondering how he could hold onto his love for so long and not have it returned. It…made it almost sad in a way. Not that anyone would find him admitting so much to Ivan.

Alfred, for all that it was, was a hero. And anyone, even a creepy bastard who lurked over his twin, who needed help would get it. Even if his uncle said that heroes wouldn't eat as many hamburgers and leave messes all over the ground, but really, that was more of a technicality then anything. But how could he get Ivan to move on from his twin? Matthew was happy with his older-by-seven-years girlfriend, although Alfred couldn't really wrap his mind around the fact that Matthew was the younger one in the relationship.

And Ivan…Ivan was still pinning away wasn't he? No matter how much he claimed that he was happy for Matthew, he was still sad that he was hanging around his sister instead of him. That wasn't healthy.

…Wait. Just wait a second. Hero yes, he would help the innocent, the downtrodden. Of course, he could help people when they needed it but this? What was this, why did he care so friggin' much about one man who had a man crush on his brother? That wasn't right! Ivan was a creepy bastard who loved sunflowers to the point of blinding an innocent passerby, and who _LOVED _his TWIN.

Just what the hell was wrong with him? Walking up to their apartment, Alfred stared at Ivan. "…I don't need a stalker please. You saw me to my door, you can go now."

Ivan smiled slightly then nodded his head, turning to leave when the door opened and Matthew, who happened to be holding a spatula and an apron smiled widely. "Al, welcome home…" Turning towards the Russian man who immediately smiled towards him, Matthew smiled. "Mr. Braginski! Why don't you stay for dinner?" he asked, ushering in them both.

Ivan tried to protest only to be interrupted by a young woman hugging the former professor to her chest. "Little brother! So this is your new student?" she asked as Ivan struggled to breathe then pried his face away from her ample chest.

"…Sister, I didn't know you'd be here as well," he said with a strained smile as Alfred shifted closer to Matthew, staring at him.

"Mattie, why didn't you tell me that you were bringing your girlfriend over?" he accused softly, the tone in his voice unknowingly growing more protective seeing the look in Ivan's eyes.

Matthew flushed a slight shade of red and shook his head. "Don't worry, we didn't do anything Al," he hissed as Alfred stared at him. "It's just dinner and I wanted to treat her to something special and…well…we saw you two walking up and Kata wanted to bring her brother for dinner as well so…"

Katayusha smiled a little bashfully then hugged Matthew. "Your brother is very kind towards me. I am grateful to have met him," she said towards Alfred who smiled then immediately knuckled his brother in a killer headlock.

"Course Mattie'll treat you well!" he said with a bright grin as he turned towards Matthew who was protesting against this headlock. "Matt's Matt for a reason."

"O-Okay, she gets that, Al, just let go!" Matthew squeaked from under the headlock as he waved his arms about.

Alfred shot a look at Ivan whose face flashed for a brief moment with something akin to grief then wiped away with a placid smile. "Da, I am glad that he treats you well…" he said with a smile, nodding his head. "I would not expect less of Matevy to do so." He smiled at Matthew who flushed a light shade of red and smiled back.

Twitching under the fact that Ivan actually really adored Matthew, Alfred could only stare at Ivan and wonder. How could he keep his calm even as Matthew laughed with his girlfriend? Having half a mind to storm over and pull Matthew away from Katayusha and tell him the truth, Alfred made his way over only to be pulled back by Ivan.

"…Do not," he said softly, eyes narrowed at the boy who growled.

"You like him don't you?"

"He is happy. I will be happy for his sake."

"Bullshit! You're not happy seeing him like that are you?"

Ivan's eyes narrowed even more as he stared at him, shaking his head all the more. "It doesn't matter, nor will it matter," he hissed but was caught off guard when Alfred swung his fist and hit the wall.

"Like you have the right to be brushed aside like that!" he roared, the roar echoing through the house.

Ivan blinked, Matthew stared, and Katayusha looked frantically in between the two. It was then Alfred realized that they were inside and that he had shouted rather loudly.

…Whoops.

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**I thought it was a good place to stop. xD Please review and tell me your thoughts! **


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